


colors are everything

by dwreed



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, Post Season 3, Sharing a Bed, Team Bonding, klance talk about the lion situation, oh wellllll, pretty drabbly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-14 09:58:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11780772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwreed/pseuds/dwreed
Summary: “Keith? You okay buddy?” Lance placed a hand on his shoulder, and butterflies began to take flight in Keith’s stomach as he inhaled in surprise.“Yeah. I’m alright, just got a lot on my mind, too.” Without thinking he placed a hand over Lance’s, but he very quickly realized how awkward it was. What had he been planning to do by doing that? They both stared at each other for a moment, looking flustered and confused. Keith was pretty sure he only made it worse by patting Lance’s hand and letting it go. Lance was obviously confused, looking like he was caught between the decision to be snarky or affectionate. He snorted, removing his hand from Keith’s shoulder and heading down the corridor towards the showers.“If you need to talk you know where to find me,” He offered, stepping backwards to keep Keith in view.“Yeah… Thanks. Likewise.” Keith cleared his throat, feeling stiff. A smirk tugged at Lance’s lips.“I know.”





	colors are everything

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Resamille](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Resamille/gifts).



> happy birthday ses-ses! <3

Ever since they'd switched lions everything had felt slightly off. 

 

Keith felt like he was wearing shoes that were too big for him while piloting Black, felt like his feet were dragging through the mud and like the weight of everything was dragging him into quicksand. Allura had assured him that it wasn't strange to need time to adjust, but Keith was impatient, especially with Shiro watching over his shoulder. Shiro, too, didn't feel quite right, but Keith wasn't sure how to say it. He'd been imprisoned again, it wasn't like that wasn't going to leave any scars, and while Shiro’d been quiet about it Keith knew he’d been struggling already. He wondered if Shiro had reached his breaking point, or if something else was wrong. Still, it felt insensitive to ask. 

 

In spite of everything going on, Keith took what comfort he could get from Lance going through a similar experience. The good thing about Lance was that if he had a problem with what Keith was doing he had absolutely no problem speaking up about it, and while it used to annoy Keith before he was realizing over and over that he needed Lance as a grounding force if he was going to be stuck leading Voltron. 

 

Speaking of Lance, Keith realized that he hadn't seen him around since training, and even then he'd seemed preoccupied. He’d looked like he hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep, and like he couldn't bother to put his whole energy into it. Somehow, he still never missed a shot, but Keith was a little concerned anyways, just because of the last conversation they'd had while they were alone. 

 

Keith wandered throughout the castle, checking all of the places he normally would and coming up empty until he realized the one place he'd left out was the hangars. He debated, before taking the lift to Red’s hangar, feeling oddly like an outsider as he wandered in. Red’s head was lowered and her jaw dropped open, so Keith didn't hesitate to go inside. He could distantly feel Red’s grumbly purr in his bones as he stepped up the walkway, peeking into the cockpit. 

 

“Lance?” 

 

Lance stirred from the pilot’s seat, still wearing his armor from the training session earlier that day. He rubbed his eyes, glancing over the seat to look at Keith with tired eyes. 

 

“Hey, man…” His voice was groggy with sleep, hair sticking up every which way as he glanced around as if he couldn’t remember where he was. 

 

“Bonding?” Keith guessed, and Lance nodded his head as he righted himself in his seat, reaching for the surface cleaner and the towel he’d been using. 

 

“Yeah. Was trying to clean and take my mind off of things.” He stood, reaching up over his head to stretch, grimace on his lips as he rubbed at his neck. Keith glanced around the cockpit for the first time; Red was basically sparkling, all the surfaces shiny and the window looking brand new. 

 

“Well, you missed our late lunch and dinner. Hunk saved a plate for you.” He turned on his heel, making sure Lance was following as he exited Red. Lance slumped behind him, looking less like he’d gotten any sleep and more like he’d just been pushed through a blender. “How are you feeling about piloting Red?” Keith really just wanted to ask if Lance was okay, but figured if he mentioned the lion trade-off the answer would probably come with it. Lance scratched at the back of his head, carrying his helmet under his arm.

 

“Ah, uhm… better now than at first for sure.” Lance wasn’t looking at him, so Keith automatically knew that  _ something  _ had to be wrong. But like most things, he didn’t really know how to ask. Emotions weren’t Keith’s  _ thing _ , at least not dealing with other people’s. 

 

“That’s good.” The conversation felt too short and stagnant, but Keith wasn’t sure of how to remedy it. 

 

“How about with Black?” Keith was unsure of whether the question came out of concern or the need to change subject, but he still took the bait. 

 

“Uh, fine. Like you said, better now than at first, but still kind of rough.” He thought he’d been free of it when Shiro had come back, hadn’t even flinched at the thought that he might not get Red back because he was just so  _ tired.  _ He wasn’t ready for everything to happen all at once, or even at all. He’d thought of Shiro as untouchable, but now Shiro was back and… why did Black  _ reject him? _ Keith was sure Shiro was wondering that more than himself.

 

“Keith? You okay buddy?” Lance placed a hand on his shoulder, and butterflies began to take flight in Keith’s stomach as he inhaled in surprise. 

 

“Yeah. I’m alright, just got a lot on my mind, too.” Without thinking he placed a hand over Lance’s, but he very quickly realized how awkward it was. What had he been planning to do by doing that? They both stared at each other for a moment, looking flustered and confused. Keith was pretty sure he only made it worse by patting Lance’s hand and letting it go. Lance was obviously confused, looking like he was caught between the decision to be snarky or affectionate. He snorted, removing his hand from Keith’s shoulder and heading down the corridor towards the showers. 

 

“If you need to talk you know where to find me,” He offered, stepping backwards to keep Keith in view. 

 

“Yeah… Thanks. Likewise.” Keith cleared his throat, feeling stiff. A smirk tugged at Lance’s lips. 

 

“I know.” 

 

Usually he was out like a light when he tried to go to sleep, but Keith tossed and turned restlessly for what felt like hours, groaning and not able to let his mind rest. At one point he’d gone to Shiro’s room to straight up ask him if he was doing okay, if he needed any help, if something happened to him on the Galra ship he’d ended up on, but he’d knocked twice and yet no reply had come. He couldn’t bring himself to go in anyways, so he’d gone back to his room and stared up at the ceiling for a while, until he heard a knock at his own door. 

 

“Yeah?” 

 

The door slid open and he sat up in bed. He wasn’t surprised to see Lance standing there, looking sheepish and also like he hadn’t slept a wink. “Hey.” 

 

Keith tucked his legs up, patting the empty space left behind for Lance. Lance didn’t hesitate, settling onto Keith’s mattress and leaning back against the wall. “What’s up?” Keith waited patiently as Lance fidgeted, eyebrows drawn together as if he were trying to put a puzzle together. 

 

“I was just thinking…” Lance trailed off, fidgeting with his Blue Paladin pajamas. 

 

“That’s never a good sign,” Keith gave him a teasing smile, but Lance only returned it half-heartedly, seeming too tired to poke any fun back or to retaliate. 

 

“You asked me about how piloting Red was going and… I don’t know. I like Red, don’t get me wrong, but it still feels weird. Like… my shoes don’t quite fit or something.” Lance tilted his head back to rest against the wall. “Obviously, I wasn’t Red’s first choice, you know? You were, and I guess I just… I already felt a bit like an extra wheel and getting switched just makes me feel like eventually I’m going to be swapped out of the equation entirely.” 

 

Keith wasn’t sure of what to say to that. If Shiro did become Black’s pilot again, how would he have felt if he’d gone back to Red and Red had rejected him? What if Lance had gone and Red had rejected  _ Lance? _ It wasn’t the first time Lance had talked about the issue of having too many paladins and not enough lions. It seemed like Lance was able to see the bigger picture way before Keith, but that’s what was making him a good right hand. 

 

“I can’t really say what’s going to happen with the lions. Maybe one day Black will want Shiro back, or maybe Black will want you to pilot, or Allura or Hunk or Pidge. But right now this is how things are. You told me that I should respect Black’s choice and that Black wouldn’t choose anyone that wasn’t fit to be the leader. I think that goes for Red, too. Red knows what she wants. I don’t think Blue rejecting you had anything to do with you not being worthy enough to be a Paladin. I think Blue could just tell that you’d grown and were ready for something else.” 

 

Lance seemed to consider it, taking a deep breath before nodding his head. “Okay. Maybe you’re right.” 

 

“I am.” Keith smiled as Lance kicked at his knee in annoyance. 

 

“What about you? Got anything to get off your chest about Black?” Lance removed himself from the wall and crawled across the space so that he could get closer, and Keith scooted over so that they wouldn’t be squished. As Lance settled down next to him he thought about Shiro, about Allura, about all of the bad choices he’d made as the leader. 

 

“I just don’t understand why I was chosen in the first place.” He glanced over to the belt sitting on the floor, his blade still in its sheath. Lance hummed thoughtfully. 

 

“... I think you don’t know what you’re doing and that’s why you were chosen.” Keith turned to narrow his eyes at him, but Lance seemed completely serious, holding his hands up defensively. “Hey, hear me out. Shiro’s leading is carefully orchestrated, you know? I think in order to defeat Lotor we all need to be able to improvise and to stay on our toes. And you’re good at that. You’re good at making snap decisions and using your instincts to help you. I think once we all get used to it we’ll really give Lotor a run for his money.” He smiled, and Keith could only look at him for a moment before glancing away, his cheeks going red. 

 

“I think you give me too much credit,” he sighed. 

 

“Probably,” Lance grinned, “But I still think it’s true.”

 

They sat in silence for a while, Keith stuck in his thoughts and Lance fidgeting with the sleeves of his pajamas. It was comfortable and quiet, the hum of the Castle of Lions between them and nothing else. Lance yawned, and then Keith’s yawn came after almost immediately. They both laughed tiredly, and Lance groaned and stretched himself out, muscles pulling and bones popping. 

 

“I think it’s bedtime,” he sighed, and Keith agreed silently. Still, he was reluctant for Lance to go. He wasn’t really in the mood to be alone, even if he was going to be sleeping, and he debated long enough that Lance had climbed over him and off the bed, slipping into his lion slippers and making the trek to Keith’s door. 

 

“If you bring your pillow you can sleep in here.”  _ God. Stupid. Why?  _

 

Lance turned to look at Keith over his shoulder, eyebrow going up. He seemed to think about it, expression unreadable for a moment, and then shrugged his shoulders up. “Mind if I bring my music?” Keith shook his head. “Okay. I’ll be right back.” The door hissed open and closed with his exit. Keith briefly wondered what he’d just done. 

 

Lance came back with his pillow clutched in his arms, phone and Pidge’s headphones in his hand as he wandered back over to Keith’s bed. “Do you prefer the wall or no?” Lance asked. Keith hesitated. 

 

“Wall…” He scooted over so that Lance could have the open space, feeling nervous now that this was actually happening. Lance threw his pillow on the bed and flopped onto the mattress. 

 

“Have you ever had a sleepover?” Lance asked as he settled down, scrolling through his phone as Keith lied back and pretended to think about it, even though he knew he never had. 

 

“No.” 

 

Lance frowned and looked down at him, but then his expression softened, something Keith couldn’t quite read on his face. “Well, I’m glad to be your first one, then.” He lied back. Keith could hear Lance’s music begin to play through Pidge’s headphones. “G’night.” He slipped the headphones on without waiting for Keith to reply, but Keith replied anyways. 

 

“Night…” 

 

Even still he couldn’t get to sleep, trying too hard not to get too far into Lance’s personal bubble as he curled up on his side, mind too filled with thoughts to calm down and let him rest. His body was exhausted though, so every time he did almost fall asleep his body would jerk as his mind woke himself back up. After what felt like an hour of this, he could hear Lance remove Pidge’s headphones with a sigh.

 

“Hey, Keith. Are you awake?” Lance’s voice travelled through the dark to Keith’s ears, and he simply hummed in affirmation. He heard Lance set the headphones aside and turn over, and Keith turned over to look at him, too. Lance’s long legs crowding into Keith’s personal bubble, their legs tangling. It was mildly uncomfortable, because Lance was bony and Keith wasn’t much better. Knees too rough on each other, Lance’s feet were  _ clammy  _ and it was kind of wigging Keith out. But Lance smelled like fresh toothpaste and soft lotion; an intoxicating smelling silhouette as he settled closer; too close.  _ Too close.  _

 

“What’s up?” Keith whispered, because something about the atmosphere felt fragile. 

 

“Dunno. Just can’t sleep.” Lance sighed, breath fanning over Keith’s face as he tucked his hand under his head. He pondered for a moment before scooting closer to Lance so that he could reach over and grab Lance’s phone. 

 

“Sorry, just a sec…” He muttered as he practically  _ sprawled  _ on top of Lance so he could stretch. Lance had shifted onto his back to allow Keith more space, but if anything it just made Keith more flustered with the situation, even if it had been his idea to reach for Lance’s phone in the first place. He nicked it off the charger and carefully settled himself back into the bunk, swiping over the photo of Lance and Hunk to unlock Lance’s phone and digging through the audio files. Lance remained quiet, hesitantly shifting his legs to get more comfortable and Keith did the same until the both seemed satisfied. 

 

It probably wasn’t the  _ best  _ thing Keith could’ve chosen, considering they were trying to sleep, but he pulled up the playlist of the podcast he used to listen to anyways. He set his phone aside, staring at where he assumed Lance’s face was, but he wasn’t sure because his eyes hadn’t adjusted yet from going from the screen back to the darkness of the room. 

 

“You don’t mind?” Lance sounded closer now. Keith still couldn’t entirely tell where his features were in the dark, but his body was outlined in the light from the blue floorlights, the shadow of his broad shoulders tapering off.

 

“No. I sleep like a rock regardless.” Keith admitted. Lance laughed on a breath. 

 

“If only.” Keith could feel Lance scoot closer this time, holding his breath as their foreheads pressed together. He felt like his face was on fire - he attempted to restrict his breathing, going rigid as his brain tried to process what was happening. But…  _ nothing  _ was happening, just Lance resting their foreheads together with their legs tangled. 

 

Time bled on, the smooth, almost sultry voice of the narrator drifted off,  _ pause,  _ and then another episode of the podcast began to play. Keith wasn’t paying attention, trying to concentrate on the feeling of Lance’s cold, sweaty feet against his calves because everywhere else on his body felt  _ warmwarmwarm _ . Keith’s neck began to ache, so he forced himself to relax, limbs sinking further into the mattress and nose brushing up against Lance’s. He could feel each of them breathing, it was making the air between them humid, as if it weren’t hard enough for Keith to breathe on his own. 

 

All Keith had to do was tilt his head to kiss Lance, but he wasn’t sure where the idea even came from. Probably just because he was lonely; probably because he was lonely and Lance was  _ right there  _ and Keith had kind of missed being close to anyone. Lance wouldn’t kiss him back, though. Even if he weren’t constantly going on about lady aliens they’d  _ just  _ started to get on better footing. Keith banished the thought. He thought being lonely up in the void of space was beginning to get to him. 

 

“Are we having a bonding moment?” Lance whispered. 

 

Keith ducked his head, trying to get away, but the space was so tight he just ended up with a neckful of Lance in his face. He smelled like soap, the soft material of his shirt caressing Keith’s chin as he basically planted himself there, too stubborn to move and admit that he was as flustered as he really was. “Yeah. Maybe,” He relented. Lance squirmed, adjusting himself so that he was on his stomach half on-top of Keith, nose burying into Keith’s hair and arm slinging around Keith’s waist. 

 

“I’ll remember it this time,” Lance promised. 

 

Keith felt like he might melt, in his entirety, through the mattress, down through the depths of the Castle of Lions and out into the vacuum of space. 

 

Keith said nothing. Lance said nothing. The narrator’s voice drifted off,  _ paused _ , and then another episode began to play as they fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> you can yell at me about klance @ dwreed on tumblr if you feel like it~


End file.
